Broadband News

Tue, 26th Jul 2016

Aussie regulator calls for greater broadband speed transparency

Australia's competition regulator and national consumer law champion, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), is calling for consumers to be provided with better information about broadband speeds.

Source: ARN

Mon, 25th Jul 2016

Telstra's COO is leaving the telco after 12 years

Telstra's chief operations officer Kate McKenzie will retire from the telco after 12 years with the business and three years leading its network architecture and operations, IT, and field services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Rowland takes on Shadow Communications as Clare trades up

As part of a number of significant changes to its shadow ministry, Michelle Rowland will be a part of shadow cabinet as Labor's communications spokesperson.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN's Sky Muster II blasts into space in October

​Nbn’s second satellite, Sky Muster II, is set to blast into space on October 5.

Source: ARN

Optus Business inks multi-million dollar deal with QBE Australia

Telecommunications company, Optus Business, has signed a new, three year ICT services contract with global insurer, QBE Australia, that will see Optus deliver voice, mobile and data network services for the business.

Source: ARN

Telstra COO Kate McKenzie quits telco

Telstra's chief operations officer is leaving the job and retiring from Telstra in the same year the network has suffered a series of embarrassing and costly outages.

Source: SMH

Fri, 22nd Jul 2016

Lightning Broadband offers Australians crazy high-speed internet without NBN

As millions of Australian homes wait for the NBN to reach their door, Lightning Broadband is deploying a wireless network promising fibre-like download speeds to suburban users.

Source: SMH

NBN launching DOCSIS 3.1 for HFC network in second half of 2017

In response to an Ovum report that said HFC networks rival fibre on performance, NBN has said it will deploy DOCSIS 3.1 technology before the end of next year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Kickass Torrents is offline, but moves to block it continue

An application for a Federal Court injunction that will compel Telstra, Optus, TPG and Foxtel’s broadband arm to block customer access to Kickass Torrents will proceed for now despite the file-sharing site’s domains being seized and its alleged operator arrested.

Source: Computerworld

Thu, 21st Jul 2016

Telstra spars with AOC over Olympic advertising

The Olympic Committee is seeking injunctive relief against Telstra, which it said has breached the law by advertising about the Rio games despite not being an official sponsor.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCC approves Telstra NBN migration plan

Telstra's amendments to the migration plan have been accepted by the regulator, allowing for longer and more flexible transitions of customers from Telstra copper and HFC onto the NBN.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra's variation to the Migration Plan gets the thumbs up

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has approved Telstra’s variation to the Migration Plan.

Source: ARN

Wed, 20th Jul 2016

Optus says Telstra's USO costs should drop to one-tenth

Telstra’s costs in meeting its universal service obligations (USO) should be “less than one-tenth” of the $290 million it receives a year, according to Optus.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC seeks responses to NBN regulatory amendment for fibre, copper, HFC network

NBN's move to a multi-technology mix network means having to amend the special access undertaking, with the ACCC asking for feedback on the proposed regulatory variations.

Source: ZDNet Australia

The ACCC Is Looking For Feedback On Proposed NBN Changes

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is asking for submissions regarding NBN’s proposed variation to its “Special Access Undertaking” (SAU), lodged on 27 May, which is a part of the regulatory framework for governing prices and other terms for the NBN supply to retailers until 2040.

Source: Gizmodo

Tue, 19th Jul 2016

NBN stopped being a sideshow in 2015: Optus

The wholesale broadband market will benefit from the NBN thanks to more ubiquity, simplicity, and a level playing field, Optus has said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN should adopt live net promoter score: Macquarie Telecom

It would be 'incredibly transformational' for the telecommunications industry if NBN embraced and publicly reported its live NPS, Macquarie Telecom has said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN technology road map will see FttN shift to FttDP

DOCSIS 3.1, 10 GPON, and FttDP are three of the upcoming technologies on NBN's road map, with the latter to be implemented in FttN areas.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Aussie Complaints Soar Over Flaky Broadband

Sluggish speeds, instability and connection delays are on the rise as complaints to Australia’s telco watchdog leap more than 25 per cent.

Source: Gizmodo

Amaysim Australia readies for NBN with AusBBS purchase

Amaysim has acquired Australian Broadband Services as part of its decision to enter into the Australian broadband market, and plans to launch its first offerings later this calendar year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

amaysim enters Aussie broadband market with $5 million acquisition

Telecommunications company, amaysim Australia, has entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in ADSL and nbn provisioning and subscriber management company, Australian Broadband Services (AusBBS).

Source: ARN

NBN commits to fibre-to-node rollout on Tasmania's west coast

Tasmania's west coast is set to receive the preferred fibre-to-the-node NBN connection promised during the federal election.

Source: ABC News

Mon, 18th Jul 2016

The Netflix 'Binge Scale' Shows How We Consume TV

We are making their own rules when it comes to watching TV. Instead of one episode per week, we are more likely to binge watch our way through a series — on average finishing an entire season in seven days.

Source: Gizmodo

NBN: politicians are short-changing the masses

Soon after any federal election, it is common for leaders of one or both major parties to indulge in platitudes about governing in the national interest. In the end, only the most partisan politics prevails. And that is likely to be the same in the case of the NBN.

Source: iTWire

AOC takes Telstra to court for misleading support of Rio Olympics

The Australian Olympic Committee has claimed Telstra's 'I go to Rio' marketing campaign is misleading Australians to believe it is an official sponsor of Australia's Olympic team.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 15th Jul 2016

The NBN - what happens now that Election 2016 is over?

The Liberal National Party retains power, so what does this mean for the National Broadband Network.

Source: PC Authority

Optus Is Offering Free Calls To France

Optus consumer post-paid mobile and fixed customers will receive free standard voice calls to France from 12:01am AEST 15 July 2016 until midnight 21 July 2016, including calls to mobile and landline numbers. Pre-paid mobile customers will receive zero-rated standard voice calls made to France from 07:00am AEST Saturday 16 of July until midnight 21st July 2016.

Source: Gizmodo

Thu, 14th Jul 2016

NBN Co signs billion-dollar HFC build deal

NBN Co has signed a signed a billion-dollar, four-year contract with a consortium of six partners for construction work in the Telstra hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) footprint.

Source: iTnews Australia

Lendlease scores new NBN infrastructure contract

Property and infrastructure group, Lendlease, has been contracted to deliver NBN network infrastructure in the Sydney North and Gold coast regions.

Source: iTWire

​NBN signs partners for HFC construction

The National Broadband Network has appointed Lend Lease, Broadspectrum, Fulton Hogan, Downer, ISGM, and BSA to carry out construction on Telstra's hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) network in Australia.

Source: ZDNet Australia